Taboo
by distraught.hallelujah
Summary: 4'6" Hisoka Mizutani is the new Naruto, bane of teachers everywhere, with a dirty mouth, below-the-belt fighting techniques, and a violent pastime of getting into fights with whoever calls her short, kid, child, little girl, you name it. Gaara of the Desert, the Kazekage, tries to understand her – but will an injury prevent Hisoka from ever even graduating the Academy?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. The few sentences at the beginning of each chapter is from a song I wrote myself and has not yet been published, so it is allowed (I think) and please do not steal it. The title is 'Escape.' If you'd like a 'theme song' written for one of your stories, feel free to message me about it. I get this lovely warm feeling when someone shares their thoughts about my stories, so please review!  
**

* * *

~ Taboo: Chapter One ~

_I_ _was_ _the_ _girl_ _in_ _the_ _corner_ _by_ _myself_

_Reading_ _my_ _fairytales_ _all_ _alone_

_No_ _one_ _pays_ _attention_ _to_ _a_ _girl_ _who's_ _4_ _foot_ _6_

_With_ _a_ _serious_ _attitude_

"Shorty!"

He wheezed it and it took some time before the word reached her ears. The first reaction was cold hard silence. Then she raised her hand and grasped his collar, pulling him up to meet her eyes, which wasn't difficult, because he almost met her eyes from his spot on his belly. Her eyes flashed, and then she did something she might not regret too much later.

She hit him hard, in the face. Then she left his sorry hide in the dust and went out for lunch, feeling quite pleased with herself for an obvious reason.

* * *

Hisoka swung her legs back and forth on the chair. One might think she was eight or so years old if not for the very mature scowl on her face. Maybe she'd have felt better if her feet reached the floor when she swung them back and forth. Then again, maybe not.

"Hisoka Mizutani, am I right?" Iruka-sensei asked slowly, bending over to meet her at eye-level. Her scowl deepened.

"Who's asking?" She retorted, crossing her arms defensively and pursing her lips sourly. Iruka sighed, hanging his head.

"I would say kiss and make up, but you don't seem very penitent at all," he said mournfully. Hisoka snorted and then was silent.

"That wasn't very nice," Iruka continued. "That poor boy you hit in in the hospital now with a broken nose and black eye. He's probably at least three years older than you, too, and a Chunin. I'm not even going to ask how you managed it, being so small."

Hisoka stiffened slightly.

"I mean, most little girls would run off crying. I appreciate your youthful enthusiasm, but perhaps a little less next time?" Iruka suggested. There was a moment of silence. Hisoka suddenly brought her foot up at an inhuman speed, and Iruka doubled over. Oh, yes. She had done it. She had hit him just there.

There was some muffled laughter from the class who was observing, and then there were some who didn't even attempt to hide it.

"Say that again," Hisoka dared, her eyes flashing. Some students made furtive 'stop now while you're ahead' motions to Iruka-sensei. Her teacher straightened up, the look on his face one of pain. He tried to tower imposingly over her (which wasn't usually difficult) but the pain of those few uncharted inches lower than his midsection caused him to stop about halfway up.

"You can sit out this class," he said, his voice strained. "Go sit over there, Mizutani."

The demon child (new nickname – thank Iruka) leaned forward slightly, pushing herself up with her hands on the chair until she was about ear-height. Her lips parted, and then she imparted eternal wisdom on her weary, over-worked teacher.

"You can stick that…"

The rest, I am sorry to say, was incoherent, but the class got the gist of it. About half doubled over in laughter, some cheered her on, and some of the more studious students looked torn between reproach and awe. Iruka was speechless for the third time ever in his entire life. The first two were with a certain male blond student who, he was glad to say, had graduated years before and was long gone. He had thrown a small party in his apartment afterward and got happily drunk and ended up owing a lot of money to someone, but that's a story for another time.

"You…" he spluttered, trying to reclaim his speech ability. Hisoka smiled sweetly.

"For the record," she said as she hopped off the chair. She crossed the classroom and waited by the door momentarily, glancing back at him. "I'm not short," she finished. Then she disappeared from the doorway, and, as Iruka gazed over the class, within moments the entire classroom was silent except for the nervous fidgeting and finger-pointing.

"She's not short," Iruka said to himself, shaking his head slowly. "She's not short, damn it. She's just a little firework waiting to explode in your face. Man, she reminds me of Naruto Uzumaki so much..."

* * *

Hisoka paused momentarily to glare through the trees at a group of older Chunin. Though she may not have looked it, she was only about a year or two younger than them. She would graduate from the Academy soon, along with the rest of her boring class. As far as Hisoka was concerned, Iruka Sensei would give her a hitai-ate even if she had to pry it out of his cold, dead hands.

She watched the group for a moment. It was comprised of two boys and one girl. One of the boys had his hair in a ponytail and the other boy was delightfully chubby, and the girl had long blond hair tied back in a ponytail with her bangs covering one side of her face. Hisoka snorted. Fashion diva.

She kept walking. Of course the training grounds would be busy at this time, because this was normally when they were free (because class was still going in the Academy). Nevertheless, Hisoka thwarted their plans again.

"Excuse me," asked a polite voice from behind her. She turned slightly. It was another group of Chunin, another of one girl and two boys, and quite an odd-looking group at that. The girl had delightful pink hair and hazel eyes, one of the boys blond and blue-eyed and the other, the one who had spoken to her, extraordinarily pale and dark-haired.

"Shouldn't you be in school, little girl?" The person continued. Hisoka froze. Why, oh why, was it always her?

"Excuse me?" She said through gritted teeth.

"Sai, that's rude," the girl scolded.

"Oh? I read in a book that when speaking to small children, you should come up with a cute nickname and smile when you talk to them slowly and clearly. Is that wrong?" The boy asked curiously. Hisoka didn't have time for him to mull over the specifics, and instead she smiled up at him.

"You look awfully pale, sir," she said clearly and politely. Without warning, her eyes suddenly flashed crimson. "Shall I, perhaps, dip you in boiling oil until your skin burns to a blackened crisp and your innards are baked nice and tender like an organic sweet potato?"

All three jumped back in surprise – or rather, two. The blond one looked down like he had just noticed her.

"Who's that?" He asked, frowning slightly.

"Don't make any sudden movements," the pink-haired girl murmured, her eyes wide, holding the pale boy's hand as she slowly took a step back. "Okay, now just back away really slowly…"

"I'll give you all posthumous names," Hisoka sputtered, growling like a cat faced with an entire bathtub full of water and bubbles. Naruto thought about whom that threat reminded him of.

"How cute," the pale-skinned boy said a little weakly. "Er… Sakura, appease it."

"Why me? You were the one who infuriated it," the pink-haired girl hissed back. "Appease it yourself, Sai."

"I'm not an appeaser by nature," Sai explained.

"What are you talking about?" The blond boy knelt down to inspect Hisoka through half-shut eyes. "She's just a little girl."

Naruto Uzumaki wasn't sure how it happened, or why it happened, or even why it had to happen to him, but the next thing he knew, he had hit a tree headfirst with about as much spinning fury as a small fourteen-year-old girl can manage. She fumed behind him, her aura glowing with murderous intent.

"I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry," Naruto said pleadingly, on his knees as he begged for mercy. There was no mercy from the demon child.

"Hey, Mizutani-san!" Someone called. Like a rabid bunny rabbit, Hisoka went from murderous rage to ultimate innocence in a flash, looking back at the boy who was hurrying towards her. He stopped in front of her, panting, his hand on his knees. He looked up.

"There you are," he said, relieved. "Are these your friends?"

"Meet Potato Fry, Sissy, and Weakling," Hisoka said, pointing from Sai to Sakura to Naruto. "They're more like insulting idiots of the worst kind."

"Oh, they said it, huh?" The boy said agreeably, nodding seriously.

"Oh, so that's creative nicknaming," Sai murmured thoughtfully from behind them. Sakura scowled.

"It's just a little girl, so I'm not going to hit her or anything, but consider this a warning," Sakura said evilly. Hisoka mirrored the evil grin.

"I'll have you know I'm fourteen, and I'll bet you I can beat you fairly in a one-on-one," she said threateningly. "If not, I'll take back the nickname and give you a better one."

"Bad idea," the boy mouthed from behind Hisoka, desperately miming decapitation to Sakura.

"You're on," she said agreeably. Hisoka began to grin.

"What's all this, then?" asked a new voice from a behind her. Hisoka frowned suddenly.

"Well, top me with seaweed and call me sushi," she said incredulously, turning around to meet the newcomer. "It's Iruka-sensei's replacement."

"Yes, well, Iruka had to suddenly head to the hospital for fear he would never be able to procreate the species… er, never mind," the man said hurriedly. "You two have to get back to class, especially the little girl after that stunt she pulled in the classroom."

"Call me that again, and I'll take your ability to procreate too," Hisoka threatened, brandishing a fist.

"She would. She's merciless," the boy said woefully. He turned slightly towards Naruto. "I'd like to apologize on my sister's behalf," he said, giving a dazzling smile and bowing to the small group of Chunin. "I'm Kuro Mizutani, and you've already met my older sister Hisoka."

"He's so cute," Sakura cooed, her eyes devolving into hearts as she held back the urge to hug him and cover him in kisses. Her maternal instinct would never, ever outdo her.

_Come_ _on_, _you_ _know_ _you_ _want_ _to_, inner Sakura crooned. Sakura shook her head and looked firmly down at Kuro.

"I'm Sakura," she said in a business-like fashion, holding her hand out stiffly. Kuro took it gracefully and, instead of shaking it, lifted it to his lips and gave her hand a small peck. Sakura whipped around, fighting back the now life-threatening desire to hug the adorable little boy.

"Seems I'll have to go for now," Hisoka said mournfully. She shot a dark look at Sakura. "But I'll be back, I'm warning you! I'll kick your butt yet. And you, Potato Fry… I'm watching you…" she pointed with two fingers from her eyes to the group threateningly in the 'I'm watching you' gesture, and then gaily hopped after Iruka's replacement. Kuro glanced back at them solemnly.

"I'd better get going," he said. He turned back and shot Sakura another dazzling smile. "I will return, fair maiden."

He disappeared after them.

"I just want to…" Sakura choked, her heavenly aura of happiness radiating around her in pastel shades and pastoral flower patterns. "He's just so… cute!"

"Breathe, Sakura-chan," Naruto said, scowling. "I'll take her down for you. She needs to be taught a lesson for sure."

"Fair maiden?" Sai frowned slightly. "I see… put towards the cuteness factor, I assume…"

"You can't analyze everything, Sai," Sakura said with a sigh. She jerked a finger towards the direction Hisoka and Kuro had disappeared in. "You could learn a whole lot of stuff from him, you know."

"I think I shall," Sai said cheerfully. "I will return, fair maiden."

With that, he disappeared. Sakura and Naruto looked after him blandly.

"It just doesn't work the same when he says it," Sakura said finally.

"No," Naruto agreed. They turned and headed back in the other direction.

* * *

"Hisoka, you ungrateful child, look at me when I'm talking to you!"

There was a ringing slap that echoed throughout the hall of the small house. Hisoka froze, her head turned, her cheek stinging. Then she slowly turned her head back to face her angry father, her expression calm.

"I sent you to the Academy to learn more than just the Way of the Shinobi," he exclaimed. "Not only did you fail to learn any of that, but manners, too!"

There was another ringing slap as he turned her other cheek. There was another pause, just like the first, and Hisoka emotionlessly turned her gaze back to her father.

"Er…" Hisoka's mother tried to butt in, but her father raised a hand threateningly, and Hisoka's mother retreated with a sorrowful look at her only daughter.

"They sent me a letter today," Hisoka's father growled. "Do you know what it said? I'll give you a hint. It mentioned our daughter and an act of willful misconduct. Hisoka, I adopted you assuming that you would make us proud, and instead you… you run around misbehaving? How could you turn on me like that?"

"Well, it involved quite a bit of enduring the pained yells of my conscience," Hisoka replied slowly, as though she were thinking it through. Kuro winced from the doorway as there was another smacking sound, accompanied by a small whimper as Hisoka fell to her knees.

"Don't you dare turn that smart-ass mouth on me, young lady. If you ever so much as put an eyelash over that line again, so help me, I will kill you," her father growled menacingly. He stood up suddenly, tipping the chair over, and stomped out of the room. Kuro and Hisoka's mother immediately raced to the fallen Hisoka's side.

"I'm fine," Hisoka grunted, getting unsteadily to her feet and raising a hand to wipe away the trickle of blood at the corner of her mouth. She batted away her mother's comforting hands and headed to the doorway.

"Thanks for the help, mom," she said sarcastically, and disappeared down the hallway towards her room. Her mother knelt in the middle of the room, dropped her head into her hands, and began to sob uncontrollably.

Not knowing quite what to do, Kuro resolutely patted his mother on the back.

* * *

Hisoka brought her hand down hard on the table. She wasn't quite thinking when she did this, and when the table was reduced to splinters under her hand, she didn't much care. Her eyes blazed with fury, and she shook with rage. She had to do something, she knew, but what could she do? She was just a child.

Hisoka raised her hand again and paused in thought as thin trickles of blood made their way down her arm. She sighed and used her other hand to begin plucking out the sharp pieces of wood imbedded in her palm.

Every day it was the same. Her father didn't know what she had accomplished on her own, without any help from the stupid Shinobi Academy. Then again, she knew that if she told him and he became proud of her, her dad would find the need to vent his anger on someone else – such as her younger brother. As an older sister, Hisoka couldn't let that happen.

Besides, at least to outsiders it just looked like she had gotten into a fight, which was quite believable due to her 'pleasant' personality. No, it was better to let him be proud of his son and not his fake daughter. It made more sense than Hisoka cared to think about. Out of all the times she had ever done something to displease him, her father felt it was right because she was being ungrateful. After all, they took her in, fed her, and clothed her… but who was keeping track?

Hisoka looked up at the window as a daring thought came over her. Daring thoughts were common these days, especially for someone as emotionally unbalanced as Hisoka. She glanced to the other side of the room and went to collect her ninja tools, paying no mind to her mangled hand. It didn't bother her much. She had a high threshold for pain.

She grasped the handle of the bag that contained her shuriken, summoning scrolls, and a number of various items that she technically wasn't supposed to have, but what else would a delinquent spend her measly allowance on?

She'd practice alone for a while. School was out, anyway, but she had her own special secret training place that nobody else knew about. She could train there, away from prying eyes, and perfect her Jutsu style. She was much smarter than anyone gave her credit for. She couldn't pull off a decent Genjutsu to save her life, and Ninjutsu was hard to master, but Taijutsu was surprisingly easy for someone as small as her. All she needed to do was let go and vent her anger. Ha, and Iruka-sensei wondered how she knocked out a Chunin!

Hisoka hopped nimbly up onto the windowsill, her bag swinging in her good hand as her injured hand clutched the windowpane for balance. Blood trickled down the pane, but Hisoka ignored it and instead hopped out into the street below.

* * *

There was a moment in which the kunai knife seemed to hover as it left Hisoka's hand and slammed into the target, sending up splinters of wood.

"That one's for my brother," she snarled. Sweat poured down her face as she tossed another one to join the cluster of knives around the target's bulls-eye. She brought another and another, until finally the circle just popped out of the rest of the target neatly and fell backwards onto the grass. Hisoka was breathing hard.

"Leave him alone," she spat, envisioning her father in the center of the target peppered with kunai knives instead of just wood. She wiped her hand along her forehead and stopped when her hand began to sting. She looked down at her hand, blood still leaking sluggishly from the ragged tear across her hand. She folded it, paying no mind to the pain, and brought her hand to her heart, her eyes flashing with determination.

_He_ _won't_ _get_ _Kuro_, she thought venomously. _Even_ _if_ _he_ _kills_ _me_, _I'm_ _not_ _letting_ _him_ _start_ _on_ _Kuro_.

"Damn you!" She shrieked, her eyes wild, and she yanked out another knife with her injured hand. Red blood merged with the steel gray of the knife's hilt as she raced towards the target, intent on simply tearing something apart. She didn't care what she ruined; she just wanted to hurt something.

Her hand was suddenly halted smoothly and not unpleasantly in mid-air, and Hisoka prepared to wrench her hand away from whatever it was that met her wrist, until she saw what it was. A wall of sand stretched up, cradling her hand in the air. Growling, Hisoka whipped around to see who had stopped her harmless training. This place was supposed to be secret!

"You seem angry," the cool coppery-haired boy remarked, his arms folded, his face emotionless. Hisoka's own face melted into an emotionless façade.

"No," she said, yanking her arm away as the sand fell back to the ground. It raced along the ground like a snake to climb up the boy's leg and funnel into the huge sandy-colored gourd on his back.

"You'll hurt yourself," the boy said reproachfully, nodding down at Hisoka's hand.

"I'm completely calm," Hisoka snarled.

"You don't look it," the boy said, frowning slightly. "You seem rather feisty for a child, don't you?"

"What did you say?" Hisoka's eyes hardened, her hand clenching the kunai knife harder. Her teeth ground together. "Are you looking for a fight?" Hisoka demanded. "This is a good time for me."

"How old are you? Where are your parents?" The boy continued.

"Which set?" Hisoka retorted.

"Is it possible to have more than one father and one mother?" The boy asked curiously, frowning slightly. "I did not think it was…"

"Yeah, when you've got one dead one and one murderous one," Hisoka said with a snort. "I'm not a child, you brat. I'm fourteen, and I've almost graduated the Ninja Academy. Soon I'll become a Genin."

"Isn't fourteen a little old to have not yet graduated?" The boy continued.

"I don't like you," Hisoka said. "You look dishonest and heartless. I don't think you could care about someone if you tried. I see that hitai-ate on your gourd; you must be from the Village Hidden in Sand. I don't know who invited you, but the party's over. Goodbye."

Hisoka collected her back and yanked kunai knives by the handful from her target, then turned to go.

"What is your name?" The boy asked.

"Hisoka," Hisoka replied. "But it's Mizutani-san to _you_."

"You have the same eyes," the boy murmured as Hisoka disappeared.


	2. Chapter 2

~ Taboo: Chapter Two ~

_I'm_ _not_ _superman;_ _I'm_ _not_ _bulletproof_ _like_ _you,_ _like_ _you_

_But_ _I've_ _got_ _my_ _own_ _escape_ _to_ _turn_ _to_ _unlike_ _you,_ _mm-hmm_

Hisoka's eyes were set on the spot in front of her. Not a single muscle twitched. Her eyes were cold and filled with tears that had yet to run down her face. She would not let something like tears get in the way of her vision. She raised a hand to angrily brush them away.

"Hisoka!" someone exclaimed. Hisoka whipped around to see her brother breathlessly running down the street towards her.

"Mom and I," he panted, walking unsteadily. "Mom and I… thought you'd… run away from home. Mom was—is, I mean—worried… about you, that is…"

"Go home," Hisoka said shortly, and slung her bag over her shoulder. Kuro's eyes fell on her hand, which had stopped bleeding but still looked terrible. Hisoka frowned and shook her head, shaking her hair over her hand steadying the bag's strap on her shoulder. "Tell mom I'll be back by dinner," she said, and kept walking.

"Wait, Hisoka," Kuro said, running after her. Hisoka stood emotionlessly still as Kuro took her back off of her shoulder and took her hand, then found bandages rummaging around in his pocket and began to wrap her hand.

"You carry those around?" Hisoka asked with a little disbelieving snort.

"Yeah. Mom told me to since that fight last week when you got your leg gouged open," Kuro replied, wrapping the bandages an extra time around for good measure and then tying a little knot in the ends. "Thought it'd come in handy sometime. Plus, I want to become a medical ninja, remember?" Hisoka glanced down at her leg, which still had a bandage wrapped around it. It was a well-known fact – Hisoka was never without a most recent wound. Hisoka met Kuro's pitying eyes, and she tore her hand out of his.

She was only just able to resist the urge to encourage his dream of becoming a medical ninja. There was nothing wrong with that. In fact, secretly, Hisoka thought that her little brother would make an excellent medical ninja.

"Leave me alone, okay?" She said crossly, swooping up her bag. "Just go home. I don't have time for you right now."

"You never have time for me, sister," Kuro said coolly. At the word 'sister,' Hisoka looked up at him in surprise. There was a moment in which he stared back, and then Hisoka looked away, her eyes dragging back down to the street.

"I'm not your sister," she said with disgust, and continued down the street. Kuro watched her walk, his expression pained. He hated to see his sister – for a sister was what he saw her as – hurting, at the hands of his father or otherwise. If only she didn't get into so many fights, if only she was nicer to people, if only she were taller…

If only. That was all Kuro could think about. If only he had enough time to get to know Hisoka better, perhaps he could understand her more. If only it was that easy.

* * *

The next day brought no more change than the first day had. That time, however, when Hisoka arrived in school, her hand was of no use to her and she could not write anything down from the class (not that she was going to anyway). Another strange thing she noticed immediately upon entering – the copper-haired boy she had met before at her secret training place, with the gourd on his back, was there in her classroom.

His arms were crossed and he wore a neutral expression, but was surrounded by Sand Village ninja. Hisoka's muscles tensed, thinking that perhaps they were here to take over the Academy, although she started to wonder why they'd want some crappy Leaf Village establishment anyhow.

The boy looked towards her as she entered the room, but his eyes didn't show any recognition. Iruka-sensei was back, Hisoka noted as she sat down. It can't have been too bad. A shame, really – looked like he could still procreate after all.

"Class, we have a great honor today," Iruka-sensei began proudly. He nodded towards the copper-haired boy. "This is Gaara of the Desert, the Kazekage of the Village Hidden in Sand. He was visiting and agreed to pay a trip to the school. How nice is that?"

The class murmured in assent, but Hisoka scowled instead. Perfect; a Sand Village Kazekage, all along. He was probably pretty strong, then… perhaps Hisoka could pick a fight with him. She was just thinking that she wasn't beat up enough.

"Hello," the Kazekage said. "It is a pleasure to meet you all."

"You don't look it," Hisoka grumbled just loud enough for half of the class as well as the Kazekage himself to hear.

"Mizutani-san," the Kazekage greeted. "How is your hand?"

Hisoka scowled, clutching her hand protectively to herself. "None of your beeswax," she said harshly. The Kazekage didn't look too perturbed.

"We're terrible sorry," Iruka-sensei said sheepishly. "I'm afraid that would be our trouble student. I see you've already met before, so I'd like to apologize for anything she may have said to you during your meeting… she can be quite a handful, you see. I'm not sure she was raised right."

Hisoka's eyes widened. Of course she wasn't raised right, if at all. How dare Iruka-sensei, just digging himself deeper and deeper.

"I am moderately sure she wasn't," the Kazekage said agreeably. _Well_, _I've_ _got_ _a_ _new_ _enemy_, Hisoka thought. "But I don't believe it was her parents' fault," the Kazekage continued. "She's lonely, just like everyone else. She wants to be acknowledged."

"What do you know about me?" Hisoka demanded, standing up so suddenly that her pencil rolled off the table and onto the floor. She didn't care. "You think you know everything, just because you're probably a noble or something who's had it easy your entire life! You can be sure that half the bruises I've gotten from the past haven't been from picking fights! You get to be sitting pretty in a little throne telling people what to do, and I don't give a—"

Hisoka froze. Her throat closed up. She couldn't say another word. To save herself from embarrassment, she raced out of the classroom as the tears she had held back for years spilled down her cheeks all at once. Wounds of the heart can't heal sometimes, they say. Hers never healed, and probably never would.

Blinded by her tears, she was all the way out the door before she realized she was on the third floor. She ended up on the balcony and, before she knew what was happening, she plowed into the railing. There was a moment when time froze and the wood gave way from the speed she had raced into it, and then Hisoka was falling. She felt a distant impact, a sharp pain and a dull thud, and then everything went black.

* * *

"Hold her steady."

"Give her more sedatives!"

"More, sir? We've already given her a lot…"

"Give her more or she's going to kill herself! Please tell me the bone is set already, and get her strapped down! Be careful, she's thrashing too much, hold her steady!"

Hisoka felt hands, pushing pulling and poking, and she couldn't bear it. Pain turned her vision red, a shocking, sharp pain that wouldn't go away. She felt as though her father was taking his anger out on her on one of his worse days. She fought, she thrashed, she writhed; anything to get him off.

Then there was a prick. Then… silence, as she slipped back into the silky blackness that consumed her spirit back into dreamland.

* * *

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune knocked politely on the door, and Tsunade looked up from her desk inside.

"Enter," she commanded. Shizune came into the room, a stack of paper in her hands, and shut the door behind her. Tsunade nodded.

"How is the Academy student?" She asked. "I heard what happened. Is she doing all right?"

"It's… actually about that," Shizune said sheepishly. She held out the papers, which included an assortment of X-rays. Tsunade took them and her eyes scanned the paper.

"We know she's a trouble student," Shizune continued. "But there are some concerning old breaks and bruising on the bones that look a lot like… well, like child abuse, from a young age. They are long-since healed, and the girl herself is doing all right, but… it just seems a little strange."

"I see." Tsunade put down the X-rays with a frown. "Tell me; who are these girl's parents?"

"That would be… let's see… Yoshi and Hana Mizutani. She has a little brother as well – his name is Kuro. Apparently she was adopted at the age of three. Her medical records show that none of the injuries she's suffered in the past have been properly treated."

"That's terrible," Tsunade murmured, leaning forward. "Is there anything we can do? How bad were the injuries she sustained from her fall?"

"Most weren't that bad," Shizune said. "It looks on the surface like nothing more than a broken arm and a slight concussion. Luckily, the Kazekage was able to cushion her fall somewhat with sand. She still hit the ground, though."

"That's good," Tsunade said. She nodded and stood up. Shizune stopped her with a hand.

"Unofficially," she murmured slowly. Tsunade frowned. "There was a large piece of wood deeply imbedded in her shoulder blade," Shizune said, biting her lip. "They haven't been able to remove it yet, as it was close to the spinal cord. If anything goes wrong, if she stresses it too much or if someone tries to remove it… she could lose use of her arm."

Tsunade's face was impassive.

"Is the patient awake?"

"I don't believe so," Shizune replied. "She's probably still sleeping. We had to give her quite a lot of sedatives to control her – she was thrashing about like you wouldn't believe."

"Child abuse," Tsunade murmured. She glanced at Shizune. "I'd like to meet this girl. Is there anything we can do about the parents? Have her forcibly moved to another family, if need be, so that this won't happen again?"

"I sent Sakura to the room," Shizune said. "If the patient wakes up anytime soon, she'll be in good hands. I can have two Anbu members sent to the patient's house, if you'd like?"

"Yes, please," Tsunade said. She headed for the door. "Which room?"

"Oh, fifteen, on the first floor, east wing," Shizune replied quickly.

Tsunade disappeared out the door.

* * *

Sakura's newest patient had supposedly fallen from the third floor of the Academy and suffered more injuries being treated for it than she did when she hit the ground. Other than that, Sakura didn't know much except what she knew from seeing the X-rays – child abuse.

Sakura opened the door and found her patient asleep in the bed. Sakura entered the room, shutting the door behind her, to check on the patient, when she suddenly recognized her.

Hisoka Mizutani. This was the same girl from the park before, who had insulted Sakura's team and suggested a one-on-one fight. Sakura's hand flew to her mouth. Child abuse? Sakura could never have guessed. The poor little girl had seemed very… lively. Sakura looked back down at her clipboard. There was no mistake, this was Hisoka Mizutani.

Sakura let the clipboard go limp in her hands. She felt so sorry for it now, for accepting a fight even if it hadn't happened yet. Sakura frowned. Well, the patient was fine. She turned abruptly and left the room, taking the clipboard with her.

In the bed, Hisoka's eyes opened. She glanced warily at the closed door, and then threw aside the covers. She sat up, wincing as the arm strapped to her chest was jostled. She stood up carefully, swaying slightly, then headed for the door. She put her hand on the door and slid it open, glancing around quickly for anyone in the hallway. Luckily, there was no one there at the moment. Hisoka headed quickly down the hall towards the door that led outside. She wanted to see the moon, which she couldn't from her bedroom. Was that too much to ask?

Hisoka couldn't get through the front door, but she was able to find another exit. She opened the door quickly and slid it shut behind her as she stepped into the cool night air.

It was so calm, so serene. The moon was high in the sky and stars sparkled all around like diamond dust glittering, and the world was so dark that it was almost saddening. Hisoka slid down the wall, her eyes locked on the moon. It was so beautiful from here. She sighed, looking down at her bandaged arm. A broken arm wasn't so bad; she should be out of the hospital in a couple days with warnings. Then there was the matter of that stupid Kazekage. Ha. Not the right person to talk about parents and such. He had no right…

Hisoka buried her face in her good hand and her knees, which she pulled up to her chest to hide the tears that streamed down her face. Big girls don't cry, and she was a big girl. Somehow, they just kept coming. Hisoka's muffled sobs were the only sounds besides crickets in the still night.

Hisoka heard a footstep nearby. She looked up quickly, ready to move, but she was already too late. It was too dark to make out the strangely-shaped, bulky figure before her, but it seemed friendly enough. The figure's head cocked slightly.

"Shouldn't you be resting?" asked the figure's calm voice. It seemed familiar. Hisoka knew she should know it, but right now, she wasn't in a thinking mood.

"I am," Hisoka replied, scowling as she wiped away any traces of her tears besides the red nose and puffy eyes. She looked away as whoever it was sat down beside her. They sat together for a moment in silence.

"I'm sorry about what happened earlier," the person said. Hisoka was startled.

"What, this?" Hisoka asked, waving her broken arm and ignoring another mind-numbing wave of pain. "It wasn't your fault. That stupid railing gave way at just the right time. Besides, the fact that I was strong enough to run into something and make it break makes me happy. All that training was good for something after all, huh?"

"I feel like it was," the person continued. "My fault, I mean."

Hisoka recognized the voice then, that and the strange, bulky figure. She scrambled up and her vision began to get fuzzy as she started to scream at the Kazekage, Gaara of the Desert, but she was too dizzy. She swayed slightly, then slumped, and felt the Kazekage's hands firmly on her shoulder as support. It felt nice, she thought distractedly. She shrugged him off.

"I can stand just fine," she snapped. "You had to come along and ruin a good night, didn't you? Forget what I said earlier. It was your fault, you stuck-up no-good rich boy. You probably had all the time in the world sitting in a fancy chair, eating fancy food, ordering people around like some sort of king. Not so many people are as lucky as you are, you know! Well? Are you going to say something?"

"Like what?" Gaara asked confusedly. Hisoka raised her hand to slap him, because she really, really wanted to, but when she pulled her arm back her other arm suddenly pulsed. Hisoka doubled over, clutching her arm with her good arm, her breathing ragged.

"Are you all right? You should be in bed…" Gaara began worriedly, but Hisoka shrugged him off.

"I don't… need help… from the likes of… of you," she spat, breathing hard. The pain was excruciating, more than she would have expected from just a broken arm. Was there something else wrong with her, or was it all in her head? This pain couldn't be her imagination. A sharp, stabbing pain that hurt like… well, like a knife. It hurt a lot.

Hisoka dropped to her knees, punching the floor. It hurt, it hurt, it hurt, it hurt, damn it! What was the matter with her?

She momentarily felt someone's hands getting very personal, and suddenly she was weightless. Gaara had lifted her entirely in his arms, which probably wasn't very difficult seeing how small she was. Hisoka struggled, but it was difficult because the arm closest to him was her broken arm, and if she moved too much, it hurt. Hisoka contented herself with spitting like a mother cat and yelling curses and kicking somewhat as the Kazekage carried her back into the hospital. He headed down the hall towards her room, ignoring her obvious protests. As he neared her room, he saw the Hokage appearing down the hall. Tsunade did a double-take when she saw her patient in the Kazekage's arms.

"What the hell are you doing?" she demanded, giving Gaara a disapproving look.

"Your patient escaped and seemed to be in pain, so I thought it would be best if I returned her to you," Gaara replied. The Hokage rushed forward to get the door for him, and Gaara entered the room, crossed it in a few strides, and dropped Hisoka onto the bed. With a particularly insulting adult word, Hisoka glowered at the both of them from her bed.

"What were you thinking?" the Hokage asked disbelievingly, hands on her hips.

"I was thinking 'isn't it a nice moon out,'" Hisoka retorted. "Your doctors are terrible, by the way. They set my arm they said, but there's this pain in my shoulder that hurts like some sort of bone shard or something. Did they miss something?"

The Hokage went silent. Gaara's calm eyes met hers, and Tsunade jerked her head slightly and left the room without another word. Ignoring Hisoka's newest stream of curses, Gaara followed the Hokage out. The door shut behind the both of them.

"Is there something I should know?" Gaara asked calmly. Tsunade wordlessly held out a clipboard with Hisoka's patient information and a number of X-rays. Gaara accepted the clipboard and his hazel eyes scanned the pages emotionlessly. He stared at the X-ray for a moment. Then he handed the clipboard back to the Hokage.

"As you can see, it's quite deep," Tsunade said grimly. "I guess there was a large splinter that stuck up in the sand as she landed, forcing it into her muscle. It's located at quite a precarious angle, and too close to the spine for comfort. I don't think we should risk removing it. The problem then would be that she needs to know, because she should use that arm as little as possible. Any wrong movement could send the wood deeper into her muscle. Either way, she could lose the use of her arm. We could try to remove it, but… it's really not something the hospital wants to be responsible for. If the wood somehow slips and snaps her spinal cord, she dies. If she keeps using her arm, chances are the muscle will be mauled beyond repair."

"I see." Gaara glanced at the door to Hisoka's room. He turned back to the Hokage, somewhat curious. "Why are you telling me this?"

"I needed to tell someone and Shizune already knows," Tsunade said impatiently. "I just thought you'd like to know."

"There is nothing you can do for her?" Gaara asked quietly. Tsunade shook her head woefully, her hand clenching on the clipboard with helplessness.

"I'm afraid not."

The door slammed open. Gaara and Tsunade both turned to see Hisoka there, leaning against the doorframe, her expression unreadable, but her eyes somehow accusing. Hisoka glared for a moment longer before turning and solemnly heading back to her bed, leaving the door open. Tsunade reached out for the door.

"Leave it open, please," Hisoka's voice said quietly. Her face was buried in her pillow. "I'd like you to contact my brother, if it's all the same. It'd be nice if you could talk to my mom, too. Dad doesn't need to know, but mom likes eavesdropping anyway."

The Hokage was silent for a moment, a moment of tense and sorrowful silence. Then she nodded quietly and turned, disappearing down the hall with long, brisk strides. Gaara stayed for a moment in the doorway, watching the little girl on the bed with her face hidden from view by long trails of her curly caramel brown hair.

"Maybe Iruka-sensei too, while you're at it," Gaara heard her mutter, though no one was really listening. "My teammates probably don't care, but they might like to know why I'm missing training. I'd give my dolls to a sibling, but the only sibling I have is my brother, and he doesn't play with dolls. Tell Kuro I have a hidden stash of candy in the drawer by my bed. He might like to know. Could you close the door now, please? It's a little cold."

Gaara reached out, shutting his eyes momentarily as he slid the door shut. He turned and headed after the Hokage, his jaw set. Even if the legendary Tsunade couldn't help Hisoka, he was certain that there was someone who could. If there was, he would find that person.


	3. Chapter 3

~ Taboo: Chapter Three ~

_It's_ _almost_ _believable;_ _my_ _fairytale_

_The_ _one_ _I_ _write_ _on_ _walls_ _and_ _paper_ _dolls_

_It's_ _almost_ _magical;_ _delusional_

_And_ _bound_ _in_ _rainbow_

Hisoka, lying supine in her hospital bed, carefully unstrapped her arm. The cast still firmly in place, she lay her arm on the sheets and stared at it for a moment, her eyes somewhat sorrowful. She had a choice. She could wait, she could run, she could hide, she could fight – whichever she chose, it seemed that she would lose. Hisoka's eyes shut and she lay for another moment in silence.

She just wanted to get it over with. She didn't want the fuss and she didn't want the time spent useless in some hospital bed. If she was just going to lose her arm anyway, she wanted it gone as quickly as possible. It hurt more to wait with a baited breath for something that wasn't going to happen. Hisoka set her jaw. She decided, right then and there, that she was going to prove everyone wrong. She was going to keep her arm.

Hisoka hopped out of bed and kept her arm limp at her side. She sat cross-legged on the ground and set her legs forward, then reached for her toes. It was a simple movement, and yet the pain that tore through her shoulder blade was worse than any broken bone Hisoka had had before. She still kept her arms outstretched, though tears flowed openly down her face.

She crossed the floor unsteadily and put her hand on the doorknob, then slowly opened the door. There were nurses milling about. Hisoka cursed and shut the door, quietly, and then headed back across the floor. Her only option would be the window. She used her good arm to wrench open the lock, then pulled the window up and clambered onto the windowsill. As luck would have it, there was a rooftop for the balcony before that Hisoka could sit on. She hopped out onto the roof and was about to continue her descent.

"You should be in bed."

The calm, steady, annoyingly and painfully familiar voice made Hisoka's blood curdle. She didn't know how he had known, or why he had been waiting outside her window (the word 'stalker' came to mind, as well as a few choice four-letter words), or _how_ _had_ _he_ _known_, but there was the Sand Village Kazekage, Gaara of the Desert, sitting right there in the shadows of the roof. Hisoka glanced at him, masking her surprise and somehow able to keep her balance even with only one arm.

"Leave me alone," she said emotionlessly. "I'm leaving, okay? I'd rather die than sit in some hospital bed, bored out of my mind, waiting for a miracle. I don't know about you, but in my experience, miracles just don't come so easily. If I'm going to lose my arm either way, I'll just cut the stupid splinter out myself. It saves time and resources."

Gaara was silent for a moment. Hisoka didn't like the silence. He seemed to be thinking, or maybe he was waiting for her to say something else, or maybe he just liked to creep people out (and was succeeding), but Hisoka shifted uncomfortably.

"I know what it's like to have nobody," Gaara said. It was so soft, Hisoka barely heard it. She almost told herself she hadn't heard it. "I used to be a Jinchuriki," Gaara continued. "I was host to the One-tailed Beast. Sometimes I would hurt my friends. It hurt more than you could imagine. Back then, I didn't realize that I had friends, or that they could be called friends, but now that I understand what a friend is, I realize that I am lucky to have had them.

"I was shunned by the members of my village. I had no parents, because I had killed my mother at birth when the beast was sealed into me. I was alone. I thought I had a friend when my uncle was taking care of me, but he was scared too. He tried to kill me. I don't hold anything against him – he was just confused, and he needed to protect his village. The beast inside me protected me and I lived. It was some time after that when I met Naruto Uzumaki. He told me about friends, he told me about friendship, about the people I hurt who had cared about me. Shortly after I became Kazekage, I was captured by the Akatsuki, and the Tailed Beast was forcibly removed.

"I should've died then, but the elder of our village brought me back by giving me her own life. Her death made me realize, more than ever, how much I had dedicated myself to my village, to protecting the people. I wished most fervently that I could do more, because I wanted to be loved, I wanted to be looked up to, and I didn't want to be alone anymore," Gaara finished. "That was why I became Kazekage, but now… now I feel as though I have a greater purpose."

"So?" Hisoka's angry tone brought Gaara from his thoughts. Hisoka was frowning. "What, are you saying that I have to become the Hokage or something? No, thank you. I have people I want to protect, too. Why do you think I put up with that at home?"

Gaara's thoughtful expression changed to one of light surprise.

"If I wasn't there to take dad's anger, what would happen to Kuro?" Hisoka exclaimed. "I'm stronger than Kuro. I'm braver. Running wasn't an option! If I learned to fight, I thought maybe I'd be able to protect myself, but that wasn't an option either. If I protected myself, got better grades than Kuro, I was worried that he would get the treatment I had! I couldn't run, and I couldn't fight, so I just took it like a Shinobi should. Am I sorry that I don't have any friends? No! I'm just fine the way I am!"

Hisoka fought to get her breath back as she held back angry tears. She wanted to punch something. Instead, she tossed her head.

"Anyway, I'm going to go find something sharp," she said firmly, her tone daring Gaara to try and stop her. "I'm going to take the stupid wood out of my stupid arm, and then I'm going to go back home and apologize to dad for being late."

"Yoshi Mizutani is in the hands of the Intel Division being interrogated on a charge of severe child abuse," Gaara said. Hisoka grimaced.

"Nice," she replied. "That's good, but mom's probably with him, so I've got Kuro to take care of. I've also got something to do, but you know, you were already leaving, so goodbye."

Gaara hesitated. As far as affairs of state went, this had nothing to do with the Sand Village and therefore nothing to do with being the Kazekage. However, the Hokage would be upset to learn that one of her patients had escaped in the dead of night while Gaara himself just watched her leave.

"I'm afraid I can't do that," Gaara said finally. He stood up and crossed his arms. "Mizutani-san, please go back to your room. You are not well."

"You're really going to play that card?" Hisoka asked, dumbfounded. "I thought you were a nicer guy, what with all that friend mumbo-jumbo. You really are a jerk, you know that? I'm leaving, and there's nothing you can do to stop me. Your arm-crossing doesn't intimidate me, and the sand just makes you look dirty."

Sand spilled from the gourd on Gaara's back, flashing silver in the moonlight, and swirled around his feet. Gaara's expression was unreadable.

"Fine," Hisoka growled. She began to tear at the bandages holding her arm in place. Gaara frowned.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Well, I can't fight with one arm," Hisoka replied, tearing away the final round and yanking off the cast, wincing as her broken arm was revealed. It looked mostly normal, but Gaara saw the pain in her eyes every time the break so much as shifted. Nevertheless, she raised her arm, even though it was obviously excruciating, and formed signs with both hands. While Gaara's eyes followed her fingers, suddenly she reached into her shirt and yanked out a handful of kunai knives. She three them, and the sand at Gaara's feet easily knocked them aside.

"Water Style; Dead Man's Rainstorm," Hisoka said, forming two more signs and finishing with her finger just brushing against the roof. Gaara watched as, above them, water began silently dripping from the roof. There was so little water that Gaara was immediately suspicious.

"What kind of Jutsu is that?" he asked curiously.

"Mine," Hisoka replied, and dropped into a crouch, her hand palm-down on the roof. Water streamed suddenly from every crevice, quickly dampening Gaara's Ultimate Defense and turning the sand a murky gray color. Gaara's mouth twitched in annoyance. Water style against his sand style had proved to be a poor mix in the past.

"Water Style; Four-Hand Water Clone Water Prison," Hisoka said. Gaara's eyes widened slightly as the streaming water formed four perfect clones of Hisoka, and then the water branched up to completely cover Gaara in a neat bubble. The four clones each had a hand in the water prison, holding it entirely still so that Gaara couldn't move. He had been taken by surprise.

"Ice Style," Hisoka said, her eyes flashing angrily. Gaara's eyes widened. "Four-Hand Water Body Trap," Hisoka finished, and the water froze around Gaara's body and the rest fell away. The clones were stationed around him, two with one hand each on his shoulder and the last two with one hand each at his ankle, prohibiting his movement in the ice shell. Hisoka took a step back.

"I'm leaving," she said simply. "Goodbye."

And then she hopped off the roof and was gone, just like that. Gaara watched her figure disappear quickly into the darkness, and he sighed. He made the decision to wait a few minutes and he did before the sand swirled up behind him and quickly took out the water clones, even though his hands were trapped. He tensed his muscles and pushed against the ice until it fell away, and then he stepped out of the 'body trap,' which would have stopped anyone who needed their hands for even simple Jutsu.

Then Gaara turned and headed for the window, which was still open into Hisoka's room. He dropped into the room and crossed it in a few broad strides, then headed into the hallway. It was time to tell the Hokage.

* * *

Hisoka was wondering what she had been thinking as she headed down the deserted street towards her house. She had one plan in mind – that the only person she could confide in, a medical ninja in training and her little brother, would have to remove the wood from her shoulder. It may not have been a very good idea, but it was better than Hisoka trying to remove it herself. Besides, there was plenty of medical stuff back at the house for the numerous scrapes and cuts Hisoka received daily.

Hisoka stopped quickly, her hand holding her injured arm to her chest, as she whipped around. Almost inaudible was the sound of quick, steady footsteps; the footstep pattern of a running Shinobi. Immediately, Hisoka ducked behind a building. She waited for a moment, listening intently, and the footsteps faded away.

She was about to breathe a sigh of relief.

"Mizutani," said a soft voice behind her. Hisoka whipped around once more and tripped, landing awkwardly to the ground and jarring her arm. She couldn't help but shriek with pain as her muscles protested against the wood splinter. She could just make out Iruka-sensei standing above her, almost tenderly reaching down to help her up.

"Leave me alone," Hisoka spat, pushing herself away with her feet and sliding across the dusty ground. "I'm not going back to that hospital! I don't care what you say; there's nothing you can say or do that will make me go back! I'd rather kill myself!"

"That's not a light matter," Iruka said, frowning. "Hisoka, please listen to reason. The hospital may be able to treat your wounds."

"I know," Hisoka snapped. "And it's Mizutani-san to you! I just don't want to wait around some more, like some helpless baby. I'm not helpless! I can do something with myself! I can be more than just some low-grade garbage that gets scolded and picked on. You wouldn't understand it, anyway. No one does!"

"…Mizutani-san," Iruka said awkwardly, reaching for her. "I know you're not helpless. Everyone has a purpose to fulfill in life. I'm sorry if somehow I offended you personally… I was only trying to help."

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," Hisoka growled. With her good arm, she was able to grab a handful of dirt and toss it in the general direction of Iruka's face. She scrambled to her feet and tried to give herself a jump start, but Iruka was too fast. His hand gripped the back of her shirt, maybe on purpose or maybe just by instinct. All Hisoka knew is that one moment she was fine, and the next she was choking from the force of her leap, and the tight sleeve pulled her shoulder backward, into the sharp object in her back. Hisoka's vision was replaced with white.

Iruka let go quickly when he realized what pulling on her shirt had done, but it was too late. Blood soaked her back, the skin finally broken from the splinters of the chunk of wood imbedded in her muscle. Iruka was horrified.

"Go away," Hisoka growled, trying to get to her feet. "I'm not coming back to the hospital. I'm not going to school. I'm not ever coming back to Leaf Village again. I'm going to run away, and never ever come back. Go away, you stupid man. Go, go, go!"

Hisoka's last wail echoed throughout the streets. Iruka took a step back in surprise as water swirled about Hisoka in a perfect circle, reaching up before swallowing her completely and leaving nothing but the dusty street as it crashed to the ground. Iruka's eyes widened.

"Transportation Jutsu?" he gasped. "But… but that's a Jonin-level technique! That girl is more like Naruto than I thought, to master a Jonin-level technique before even graduating…" He shook his head. "Not now," he reminded himself. "Right now finding her is the top priority."

He looked around. With no other options, he headed in the direction of the Mizutani house, praying that he could get there in time, hopefully with medical ninja.

* * *

Kuro sat down at the table and picked up his bowl of rice and his chopsticks. He began to eat silently, his eyes set sadly on the table in front of him. It was so quiet, so lonely in the large, empty house. He wondered when his mother was coming back, and when his sister would get better. He hadn't heard all the information, but he was sure it would be fine. He knew how strong Hisoka was. She would be back in no time.

"Kuro."

Kuro was so startled that he dropped his rice bowl. He turned around to see his sister in the doorway to the kitchen. She was a mess and was dripping wet, her hair hanging limply from her shoulder. Kuro didn't have time to worry and began to smile, but then he noticed her arm and the grim look on her face as she bit back sobs.

Blood dripped down her right arm. Before Kuro had time to ask, she collapsed right there, in the middle of the floor. Kuro got up quickly and raced to her side, but even as he neared, he could tell something was very, very wrong. There was some sort of bump under her shirt, on her back up just behind her right shoulder blade. It seemed to be the source of the injury. Kuro reached forward, then cringed back.

"Take it out, Kuro," murmured the soft, whispery voice of his sister. Kuro looked down at her in surprise. Her face was serene, her eyes glossy. She was smiling distantly.

"But… but I could kill you!" Kuro sputtered helplessly. Hisoka's eyes met his.

"Take it out," she repeated, with a little more force. She gritted her teeth. "No hospital. Don't get ninja. Take… out... that little bugger."

Kuro was silent for a moment. Then he nodded and got to his feet quickly. He raced to a cabinet in the kitchen and tore the shelf off. He grasped a first aid kit and then ran back to Hisoka with the shelf and kit in hand. He placed the shelf under her arm and gently began to fashion a splint.

"No… time," Hisoka murmured softly. Kuro could tell that she was fading quickly. "Just take it out… now… please, Kuro."

One look into his sister's desperate eyes, and Kuro knew what he needed to do. He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes, steadying himself, and let it out. Then his eyes shot open. He took one more breath and then, with a burst of fresh determination, he got to work.


	4. Chapter 4

~ Taboo: Chapter Four ~

_Where's_ _my_ _big_ _dress?_

_Where's_ _the_ _damsel_ _in_ _distress?_

_Where_ _are_ _my_ _three_ _wishes?_

_How_ _can_ _I_ _step_ _into_ _the_ _pages?_

There was nothing. Hisoka knew she was there, but she couldn't even feel herself. Everything was numb. Hisoka noted, deep, deep down, that she was probably lucky she couldn't feel anything, because it probably hurt like hell.

Wait… what hurt like hell? Hisoka couldn't seem to remember. She remembered… a boy. He had coppery hair and green eyes. Who was he? Hisoka struggled to drag her memories from the deep murk they were submersed in. Was he related to her? Was he a friend? Yes… somehow Hisoka felt that was right. There was another boy Hisoka remembered… someone important, apparently. Could he be… her brother?

Slowly the memories began to come back, then they flooded back suddenly, all at once. Hisoka gasped, startled, as her eyes shot open. She saw a bright light and for a moment she was worried. What a seemingly dramatic end.

"You're back," said a very relieved voice. Hisoka tried to turn her head, but she couldn't seem to move. She was completely paralyzed. She remembered the injury she had gotten and for a moment she began to panic. Had she lost all movement from her neck down? Was that it? She wouldn't be able to be a Shinobi anymore?

"Don't try to move," the voice continued. "You're pumped full of tranquilizers. It's weird… they make it impossible for you to move, but they don't affect your mind. Can you believe that? I mean, how cool! I have to get myself some."

"Kuro?" Hisoka slurred. Her tongue was heavy. "Kuro... what's…" she couldn't finish the sentence, but Kuro seemed to understand.

"Well," he began proudly. "I was actually doing surgery, which I really wasn't supposed to be doing, but I was doing a pretty okay job until the medical ninja arrived and took over. They gave you some quick treatment at the house and then brought you back to the hospital to finish. We were able to take out that wood thing, but we're still not sure about how your arm did. We have to see until the bone heals first. It should take about a week of treatment here at the hospital, and then you might need physical therapy for a few weeks after that, and—"

"Kuro," Hisoka murmured, shutting her eyes. Kuro leapt up.

"Hey, Hisoka, are you okay?" he demanded. Hisoka cracked one eye open.

"Yeah, bro," she said softly. "That was my roundabout way of saying 'shut up.'"

"Oh," Kuro said sheepishly. He realized what she had said. Suddenly his face broke out in a smile, and he sat back down, his spirits soaring. She had acknowledged him as her brother!

"Oh, so the Hokage herself did the surgery," Kuro said excitedly. He could never shut up for very long. "And the Kazekage has been in to see you _three_ times! With _flowers_!"

Hisoka frowned slightly.

"How long have I been… out?" she asked, ignoring the message hidden behind the word 'flowers.' Kuro looked sheepish.

"A few days," he said. "You've been sort of touch and go… I think that's the right term, anyway. I mean, you've been hanging by a thread for a while. No one thought you'd make it, but I knew you would. I gave the Kazekage your baby pictures."

Hisoka's muscles jerked involuntarily, and her head shot to one side, her ability to move temporarily restored even so that she could just strange her brother. "You what?" she demanded, forgetting for a moment that Kuro did not have access to any of Hisoka's baby pictures.

"I'm kidding," Kuro said, laughing. "You should see your face! Hey, if you marry the Kazekage, that'll make him my what, stepbrother? Or would he be my uncle or something? Something by marriage…?"

"Get over here so I can kill you," Hisoka growled, raising her good arm with much difficulty and curling her fingers in an effort to grasp Kuro's neck.

"That was another problem," Kuro continued, dancing out of the way. "The tranquilizers just kept wearing off. They were giving you small doses at first, because you're so tiny, but then they had to move to bigger and bigger doses until you were almost getting as much as a horse!"

"Say that again," Hisoka said threateningly, but she was interrupted when the door opened. Kuro turned around and immediately bowed deeply as Gaara of the Desert entered calmly. Hisoka fell silent.

"Please, there's no need for that," Gaara said quickly to Kuro, who straightened up.

"Hey, when you marry my sister, can I be the ring bearer?" Kuro asked eagerly. Gaara's eyebrows came together in something between curiosity and surprise.

"Kuro, out," Hisoka said in a dead tone. "I'm fourteen, you little jerk-face."

Kuro danced out of the room, winked playfully, and shut the door behind himself as he hummed gaily. Gaara turned to face Hisoka, who closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep.

"I apologize," the Kazekage said quietly. Hisoka cracked one eye open.

"For what, breathing my air?" she asked. "I'll forgive you if you hold your breath for the rest of your life."

"I apologize for intruding," he continued, without missing a beat. "I will be leaving Leaf Village and heading back to my own village shortly. I wanted to check on you one last time to see how you were doing. I see that you are feeling better."

"Maybe if you gave me a foot massage," Hisoka suggested. Gaara seemed somewhat puzzled. "I'm joking," Hisoka said finally, much to Gaara's obvious relief. "Honestly, my toes aren't that diseased," Hisoka grumbled under her breath.

"I… guess that's all," Gaara said. He looked at the floor for a moment, then back at Hisoka. "I hope you recover soon. Maybe someday we will meet again."

"Yeah, whatever," Hisoka said. "Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Gaara seemed somewhat puzzled.

"Leave," Hisoka translated. Gaara relaxed slightly. It could've been Hisoka's imagination, but she could've sworn he looked almost happy.

"I suppose… with your parents gone, you will be needing a family," Gaara began awkwardly. Hisoka immediately began to sing very loudly and very badly. A look of utter confusion crossed Gaara's face that stayed there until Hisoka finished "Happy Birthday' with a surprisingly small number of birds keeling over on the branches outside.

"No, thank you," Hisoka said loudly. "The last thing I'd want would be to call you 'dad.' Not a chance in Australia. Gosh, you're young enough to be my _friend_. Oh, yuck. I will never get that image out of my head. No way."

"I was merely going to wish you luck on finding a new family," Gaara said, still surprisingly calm under the circumstances. "Apparently you're too old for an orphanage and your mother has to work while your father is in jail, so she wouldn't have time for two children. I would offer you a home in the Village Hidden in Sand, all expenses paid, but I'm not certain you would take it and to be honest I don't think you would take it graciously."

"Yeah, no thanks," Hisoka said, shaking her head. "I'll do fine on my own. I'll eat stray dog at midnight in the backyards of rich kids like the Hyuuga Clan and during the summer I'll fight waterfalls and meditate under bears. Or was it meditate under waterfalls and fight bears? Oh, well. I've always wanted to live the life of a street kid. I've got the mouth for it."

"Hm." Gaara seemed to be trying to agree, but the corner of his mouth twitched in something that almost seemed like a smile. Hisoka grinned.

"I guess you're not _so_ bad," she admitted. "Maybe a two out of ten on the okay scale. You might make someone very happy someday. You could model surfboards. I'm sure that'd make someone happy, anyway. You'll need to work out a bit, and get something of a tan before starting. You'll need some sort of modeling name, like 'the Stoic Know-it,' or 'Sand Art.'"

"Perhaps," Gaara said. Honestly speaking, if modeling surfboards paid well, Gaara knew that it would be significantly better than sitting behind a desk doing paperwork and dealing with affairs of the state at his age. Sand wasn't hard to find where he lived. It was getting away from it that was more difficult.

"I should probably get some rest," Hisoka said meaningfully. Gaara nodded.

"I wish you a speedy recovery," he said. He bowed slightly and then turned to leave. The door shut quietly behind him and, just out of curiosity, Hisoka turned towards the window and noticed immediately the small vase with flowers in it. She leaned back against her pillow.

"Maybe I was a little rude," she admitted quietly to herself. She looked up at the ceiling. "I mean, the Kazekage could be a great guy. Maybe he's not so bad. He did get flowers…"

Hisoka turned her head slightly and shut her eyes. She'd think about it more when she woke up, but for now, she felt tired.

* * *

A nurse knocked lightly on Hisoka's door. She had a thermometer in hand, to check for signs of fever that could mean infection. The nurse opened the door somewhat and paused when she saw the patient in bed, breathing softly, her face serene. The nurse smiled slightly. Instead of waking up her patient, she shut the door silently and then continued down the hall. She could take the temperature later.

* * *

Hisoka woke up shivering, her head spinning. She reached down with her good arm to pull the blankets further up, but she didn't have enough blankets, and a bout of dizziness stopped her mid-reach. She turned slightly and pressed the button beside her bed that called the nurse. Sweat trickled down her neck, and her hair stuck to her neck. After a few minutes of silent agony, the door opened and the nurse appeared.

"Oh, good, you're awake," the nurse said, smiling. "I hope you don't mind, but I need to take your temperature. Can you move at all? I just need you to open your mouth for me…"

"I need a damn blanket," Hisoka said through gritted teeth. "It's freaking cold in here."

"I can get that for you," the nurse said agreeably. She crossed the room and found a folded blanket, then helped Hisoka by spreading it over Hisoka's body. "Better?" she asked.

"A little," Hisoka grumbled. The nurse stuck the thermometer into Hisoka's mouth and waited a moment. Then she pulled out the thermometer and looked down at the reading. Her face changed from cheerful to anxious.

"What is it?" Hisoka asked groggily, blinking to clear the gumminess out of her vision.

"Just wait a few minutes, please," the nurse said, turning to leave. "I'll need to get my supervisor. We'll be back soon."

The nurse rushed out the door, leaving it wide open. Hisoka stared after her, her expression confused. Just as the nurse had promised, a few moments later, she appeared again followed closely by Shizune, the Hokage's right-hand woman and the head of the hospital. Shizune had the thermometer in hand.

"Could you please open your mouth?" she asked. Hisoka obliged, and Shizune tapped her foot impatiently as the tool sat under Hisoka's tongue. Shizune pulled it out and looked down at the reading. She turned to the nurse.

"Her temperature's almost 102," she said. "Get the Hokage quickly. Tell her it's an emergency in room 15, Hisoka Mizutani. There's a chance of post-operative osteomyelitis. We need intravenous antibiotics and some cool wet cloths."

"Yes, ma'am," the nurse said quickly, and rushed out. Shizune turned towards Hisoka, a dull smile on her face.

"Don't worry," she said. "If there is any infection, we'll clear out the infected tissue and hopefully the bone wasn't infected. If it does turn out to be osteomyelitis, I'm sure there's some way we can fix it. You'll be fine. You've got the best doctors in the Village Hidden in Leaves looking after you. You'll be fine. You'll be fine…"

The last phrase echoed in Hisoka's ears as her vision began to blur. Shizune could do nothing as Hisoka's head slumped and she slipped abruptly into unconsciousness. Shizune made an about face, leaving the room, and raced past the Hokage, who was rushing down the hallway on her way in.

"What's the matter?" Tsunade demanded, sliding to a stop. Shizune stopped in a likewise manner and turned quickly.

"She's burning up," she called, racing back towards the Hokage. "Get in there fast, Tsunade-sama! We might lose her if we don't hurry!"

The Hokage pushed off, quickly covering the rest of the floor and grabbed the door, using her momentum to pull herself inside the room. Frantic nurses followed with an antibiotic I.V. drip, wet cloths, baskets of medicines, medical tools, and more. The door shut behind them, and all sound disappeared.

* * *

Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro all stood waiting at the gates. Gaara's security escorts, seven Jonin from the Village Hidden in Sand, stood by waiting for their cue to start home.

Gaara looked back at the village. It was true that he had memories – lots of very, very important memories – from the Village Hidden in Leaves, but somehow he felt uneasy about leaving for some other reason. Sure, he was worried about the little girl from the Ninja Academy, but he had been assured that it was smooth sailing from there. Surely the Hokage knew what she was talking about?

"Lord Gaara?" one of the Jonin asked. Gaara turned, nodding.

"Let's go home," he said. The small group left the village on their way home.

* * *

Hisoka's eyes opened. She saw branches above her, laden with beautiful cherry blossoms. The world was so bright that Hisoka had to blink a few times before she could open her eyes fully. Cool, damp grass lay under her. Hisoka sat up, looking in awe down at her arm, which was completely fine. She flexed her hand, splayed her fingers, and there wasn't even an ounce of pain. Hisoka stood up. She was wearing a long, loose white summer dress that flowed and billowed in the wind. Hisoka smiled.

She raced down the hill with the cherry tree on it, her arms spread wide, laughing giddily. She hadn't done that since she was three years old, back at the orphanage. The wind blew her hair back, almost with as much pleasure as Hisoka felt.

She stopped suddenly, looking down at the valley below the hill. There was a white blanket spread out there, with a young couple sitting on it and laughing. The woman had a child in her arms, a girl baby. Hisoka took a step forward, frowning slightly. They seemed… familiar somehow. Hisoka took another step forward.

"I lost the baby!" the mother suddenly shrieked. The baby had seemed to magically disappear from her hands. The mother and father frantically searched the blanket, with no sign of the baby. Hisoka opened her mouth.

"Mommy!" exclaimed a little voice, full of innocent mirth. Hisoka turned to see a little girl in a white dress running down the same hill she had been on. The little girl couldn't have been more than two years old, with chubby fingers and unsteady steps. The girl suddenly pitched forward, and the mother dove to catch her, but then the girl zipped out of existence, disappearing as suddenly as the baby.

"Hisoka-chan," the mother said in a relieved sort of voice, apparently not worried about the disappearing children as she smiled straight at Hisoka, her outstretched arms not reaching for the girl that had been there moments before. Hisoka frowned, but slowly it dawned on her.

"…Mother?" Hisoka asked quietly. The mother smiled and held out her arms, and the father stood up behind her and, smiling, wrapped his arms around his wife's slim waist. The couple was waiting for her, for Hisoka. Hisoka's frown disappeared entirely, and a huge, genuine smile danced across her lips. Hisoka took one step forward, then another, and another. Soon, she was racing towards her mother's outstretched arms.

"Hisoka-chan," her father said, smiling. His eyes laughed. Hisoka loved his eyes, the beautiful laughing eyes of her father, so warm and familiar.

"My baby," her mother said, her arms beckoning. Hisoka ran and ran, but they weren't getting any closer. Tears streaked down Hisoka's face. A cold feeling began to tickle her fingers and her toes. She felt that, like the other two girls, she would disappear and a new one would take her place, an older one.

Hisoka fell to her knees, no longer able to run. She was paralyzed. She was choking. Her lungs wouldn't expand anymore, wouldn't accommodate air. She saw her parents, still waiting, not realizing anything was wrong. Hisoka reached out her hand.

"Mother, father," she sobbed as the darkness swallowed her vision and the warm summer sky swirled above her, the cold finally reaching the depths of Hisoka's heart.

Back at the hospital, Tsunade stopped with her hands, red with Hisoka's blood and holding a scalpel, waiting helplessly just above the open wound at the girl's shoulder, to the right of the spine. Tsunade's eyes were wide.

"Nurse," she exclaimed, turning hopefully. The nurse shook her head, her eyes tearful, as her fingers were pressed against Hisoka's neck to feel for even the faintest flutter of a pulse. Tsunade looked back down at Hisoka, whose face was peaceful. Tsunade dropped her hands, closing her eyes for a moment.

"She's gone," she whispered. She dropped the tools, whipped around, and kicked the wall. Spider-webbing cracks wove around the hole her foot left as she dragged her foot back, her face set angrily. "Damn it," she roared. "She's not dead until I give the okay, and I say it's not okay, dammit! Turn her over now!"

The nurses hurriedly shifted Hisoka's body, and Tsunade tore off her gloves, put one hand on top of the other, and straightened her elbows. She pounded Hisoka's chest steadily with as much force as she could use without breaking Hisoka's ribs. She did it five, ten, fifteen times, and then knelt over and set her mouth over Hisoka's, pushing air into Hisoka's quickly-stiffening lungs. She straightened up and kept going.

"Lady Tsunade," one of the nurses murmured solemnly, putting a hand on Tsunade's arm. Tsunade didn't even bother batting her away, her attention was so set on CPR. Tsunade's eyes blazed with such determination that the nurse took her hand away quickly. She glanced at another nurse across the room wonderingly, and the nurse nodded determinedly.

"Get me a half-dose of epinephrine," the nurse called, leaping into action. There was a flurry of movement. "We need a defibrillator in here, set to 50 Jules, now please, if not five minutes ago! We've got a minor with vertebral osteomyelitis in full arrest!"

Two of the nurses left the room immediately to fetch the defibrillator, and the other nurses quickly began setting up a new I.V. drip and clearing everything unnecessary away from the bedside to make plenty of room. Tsunade kept the CPR steady, calming herself down and alternating between fifteen chest compressions and two breaths.

_Please_ _let_ _this_ _child_ _survive_, she thought desperately. _Please_!


	5. Chapter 5

~ Taboo: Chapter Five ~

_Here_ _is_ _my_ _escape_

_Covered_ _in_ _butterflies_

_This_ _is_ _my_ _escape_

_Here,_ _you_ _just_ _close_ _your_ _eyes…_

Kuro ran as fast as he could, ignoring the branches that whipped his face. The Kazekage had left for the Village Hidden in Sand only a little while ago. Kuro could still make it! His heart beat furiously, his breathing nearly tearing his lungs apart. At last, he caught sight of them.

"Lord Kazekage, sir!" he exclaimed, reaching. Gaara turned, surprised, and Kuro collapsed to the ground.

"Are you all right?" The Sand Village medical ninja felt Kuro's pulse.

"It's Hisoka," Kuro gasped, batting the helping hand away. Gaara frowned slightly. "She… she's dead," Kuro reported, tears streaming down his face. Sobs began to wrack his body, softly at first. Just saying it made it that much more real. Gaara's eyes widened.

"Dead?" he repeated softly.

"She… h-her heart just stopped, and they're doing all they can, but… it's hopeless!" Kuro wailed. The medical ninja put his arm awkwardly around Kuro's shoulder to comfort him.

"I'm very sorry to hear that," Gaara said sincerely, his eyes downcast. "I'm afraid there is nothing I can do, Mizutani-san. You should go back to the village."

"But she really didn't want you to have this, so I needed to give it to you," Kuro said quickly, rummaging through his pockets. He brushed the tears from his eyes, took a deep breath, and held out a photograph. He held it out to Gaara with both hands, and Gaara stared at it silently. It was a picture of a man and a woman, smiling, on a picnic blanket on a seemingly warm summer day. The woman held a baby protectively in her arms.

"It was her only picture of her parents," Kuro explained sadly. "I think she really wanted you to have it. I mean, Hisoka is… Hisoka was really brave, but she just couldn't bring herself to say what she really meant, and I think she would have wanted this to go to you."

"Why this, all of a sudden?" asked Gaara, without taking the picture. Kuro frowned.

"Well, I was just joking about the marriage, but I think she really liked you," he said. Gaara smiled very slightly, a sad little smile.

"Is that so?" he wondered aloud. Kuro nodded.

"When I was trying to treat her wound at the house, she was kind of out of it, but I heard her say something about willing everything to the 'sandy bastard'. I assumed that was you, because, you know, that's how Hisoka shows affection. I'm… I was the little brat who should keep my nose out of other people's business," Kuro said. He sniffled and raised a hand to wipe his nose on his sleeve. "But now she's gone!"

"Thank you," Gaara said, taking the picture gratefully from Kuro with both hands. Kuro watched him as Gaara slipped the picture into his shirt. "Thank you," he said, smiling once more. "I am certain that Hisoka, as boisterous as she was, has treasured it, so I will as well. Perhaps I can request to stay a few more days in the Village Hidden in Leaves to attend the funeral. Would that be acceptable, Mizutani-san?"

"Yes, please!" Kuro said quickly. "I'm sure Hisoka would want that."

"Very well, then." Gaara nodded to his escorts, and they turned back to face the Village Hidden in Leaves. Gaara offered Kuro a hand and Kuro got to his feet.

"Let's go," Gaara said, and the group set off.

* * *

Tsunade left the hospital room and shut the door behind her. She leaned against the frame, her shoulders slumping. Her eyes shut momentarily with fatigue. She slowly pulled herself from the wall and headed down the hall with an air of despair. She bumped into someone. Or, rather, her chest made contact with someone's face. Tsunade blinked.

"Excuse me, Lady Tsunade," said Gaara, taking a quick step back and somehow being able to keep his cool despite having just had his face momentarily in his senior's cleavage.

"Oh. I thought you left," Tsunade said dismissively. She turned to head past him.

"I wanted to offer my sincere condolences to Hisoka's family," Gaara said, turning to face Tsunade's back. Tsunade turned around to face him. There was a small smile on her face.

"What do you mean?" she asked. "We saved her."

"You…" Gaara frowned. "Kuro Mizutani told me that she died."

"Medically speaking," Tsunade began with a sigh, "she died during the operation. She was in full arrest, meaning that she wasn't breathing and her heart had stopped beating. She somehow fought her way back. However, the time it took to bring her back delayed the surgery on her spine, so I'm not sure if she will ever regain the use of her arm. She could recover entirely in a few weeks, she could be paralyzed from the neck down, or she could be anything between the two. It really can't be seen at this stage."

Gaara was silent for a moment. He looked up at Tsunade.

"Is she awake?" he asked.

"Hell no," Tsunade replied, shaking her head. "She probably won't wake up for the next couple days. She's got to sleep off the anesthesia, the infection can make her lethargic, and the fever will tire her out. All in all, she could wake up tonight or a week from now, and that's if she doesn't enter a comatose state."

"And what would happen if her mind did enter a comatose state?" Gaara asked.

"A coma usually happens when there's damage done to the brain," Tsunade explained with a sigh. "It's very different from unconsciousness. I'm not sure if this reached that far, but it depends if any damage was done to the nerves or the spinal cord. The trauma sustained during the injury and during both surgeries, the first to remove the wood and the second to clear out infected tissue, could pile up and her mind might decide to shut down anyway."

"I see." Gaara looked thoughtful. Then he reached into his shirt. "Could you make sure that Mizutani-san gets this?" he asked, holding out the picture. Tsunade looked down at it.

"Either give it to Shizune or leave it on the bedside table," Tsunade said. "I'm off-duty for the next two years. If anyone needs me, make them not need me. Good night, Lord Gaara."

"Good… afternoon, Lady Tsunade." Puzzled, Gaara watched her make her way unsteadily down the hallway. Then he headed down the hallway towards the hospital room, picture in hand. As he entered the room, he found Shizune leaning over Hisoka on the bed, changing the I.V. drip. Hisoka's eyes were sunken, her lips pale. There was the tube connected to the I.V. drip leading to her arm where the needle pierced her skin and sent the antibiotics through her system. Shizune looked up at Gaara.

"Oh, Lord Gaara," she said with surprise. "Did you need something?"

"Oh, no, please carry on," Gaara said, steeping to the side and just watching the sleeping Hisoka. Her chest rose and fell slowly, but her forehead was slightly creased, as though with worry or annoyance. Gaara wondered briefly if that was her natural expression, but then her face suddenly softened. Gaara smiled slightly, despite himself, as he saw her entire face just turn into that of a sleeping angel. Her finger twitched.

He didn't even notice as Shizune left, but then Shizune came back pulling a collapsible chair behind her. With a knowing smile, she gave it a flick and the chair opened. She pulled it to Hisoka's bedside and left it there, then quietly left the room, shutting the door behind her. Gaara stood still for a moment, then stepped forward and sunk into the chair gratefully.

He closed his eyes and listened to Hisoka's steady breathing. He may have fallen asleep there, or maybe the time just flew by right under his nose, but the next thing he knew he was opening his eyes an hour later.

And he was seeing Hisoka, right there, staring back at him. Her eyes were somewhat dull, and her lids were heavy, leaving nothing more than a thin slit of her eyes visible. Her hair was a mess, and her breathing was slow and labored, unlike before. Gaara wondered briefly if something was wrong.

"Hisoka, you—" Gaara began, somewhat eagerly, but her eyes were closed once more. Gaara blinked as he sat back down, not remembering even getting up from his seat. He reached across Hisoka's bed and flicked a strand of hair out of her face. His hand paused on her forehead, which still seemed burning hot. Oh, well. He supposed the fever would last a little while, too. He took his hand away.

He stood up, looking somewhat tired as he crossed the room and left, shutting the door gently behind him. He paused, looking up and seeing Shizune, who looked sheepish.

"Can I help you?" Gaara asked calmly.

"Nope," Shizune said, and hastily kept walking. Gaara watched her go, a strange look on his face, and shook his head. He continued down the hall.

* * *

Three Days Later

* * *

Hisoka had her head leaning against the window frame. She knew she technically wasn't supposed to be outside, but the warm breeze felt wonderful. Her eyes closed and she shifted slightly, rolling into a ball with the blanket in her lap.

"You shouldn't be sleeping on the roof," murmured a voice from nearby. Hisoka nodded slowly.

"Sure," she said. She didn't move.

"It is a beautiful day, isn't it?" continued the voice.

"Did you have something to say, Kazekage-san?" Hisoka asked, opening her eyes slightly. Sure enough, it was Gaara who sat beside her. He smiled slightly.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like crap," Hisoka replied. She shut her eyes again, leaning back against the window.

"But you should really be in bed," Gaara continued.

"Don't deny a girl her pleasures," Hisoka replied. "It's not like being in bed is going to make me recover any faster. I'm tired, sure, but it's so nice out here. Besides, it was cold inside, but it's warmer out here."

There was a moment of silence.

"Your thought should be, 'I shall now take the role of a snuggly-bunny to make Hisoka-chan feel better,'" Hisoka prompted. Gaara blinked, and Hisoka sighed, cracking one eye open. "You're bad at social cues, aren't you? I'm basically giving you permission to hug me."

"Thank you," Gaara said awkwardly. He didn't move. "I will keep that in mind in case the sudden urge to hug you ever arises."

"Argh," Hisoka groaned, raising her left arm and slapping her head. Gaara winced.

"Are you in pain?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm in pain!" Hisoka growled. "My brain can't process your stupid cluelessness and now it's backfiring. You're giving me a damn headache!" she added when Gaara didn't seem to understand.

"Oh," he said. "I apologize." He got up to leave.

"And, um…" Gaara looked back down at Hisoka, who was blushing slightly, looking away. "I wanted to thank you, for… um… that stuff that you did for me, you know? So anyway, thanks. For being there," she said.

Gaara smiled.

"I'm sure anyone would've done the same," he said. Hisoka groaned once more.

"I give up!" she exclaimed. "I give up! I just can't understand you!"

Gaara frowned.

"I could say the same about you," he said.

"Whatever."

Hisoka got up angrily and somewhat unsteadily to head back inside and yanked hard on the window. She was surprised when the window didn't open, and she took a quick step back to catch her balance and almost fell off the roof. Luckily, Gaara was there, and he grabbed her arm to steady her. Hisoka winced. With Gaara bracing her on the roof, she tried opening the window again. It didn't budge.

"Oh, right," she said, hanging her head. "The window…"

Gaara didn't catch the last of that sentence.

"Excuse me?" he asked politely.

"I said 'the damn window sticks sometimes'," Hisoka snapped. Her good hand balled into a fist. "I hate damn windows…" she grumbled. She said something else that Gaara didn't quite catch, but it sounded something like 'fan service.'

"Oh," Gaara nodded. "Well, we'll just go down the way I came up."

"A magical elevator?" asked Hisoka sarcastically.

"Not quite," Gaara replied. "I jumped."

He nodded to the tree that stood next to the hospital building.

"Good for you," Hisoka grumbled. She sat back down. Gaara watched her for a moment. "Well, go ahead," Hisoka said. "Don't let me stop you."

Gaara thought for another moment. Then he reached out, grabbed ahold of the window, and yanked hard. The window slammed open quite easily, and Hisoka stared at the open window in surprise. Somehow, she seemed disappointed, however strange it was.

"Okay, so you got lucky," she said grudgingly as he politely helped her inside. She dropped a foot or two to the floor and Gaara jumped in behind her, and then Hisoka headed for her bed. She crawled under the sheets and pulled them up to her nose.

"I heard you had to go back home," she said, her voice slightly muffled. "Don't let me keep you. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

Automatically, Gaara began to head meekly to the door. He stopped, his hand resting on the handle. He turned back. There was a small smile on his face.

"I think…" he began quietly. Hisoka tried to look uninterested, but it was obviously forced. "I think… you _wanted_ the window to be stuck," he said. The door opened, he left, and the door shut. Hisoka leapt out of bed, cursing, and threw her pillow to the ground. Outside in the hall, a smiling Gaara headed for the door, ignoring the violent cursing from room 15.

* * *

Hisoka stood with Sakura and Tsunade at the gate to say farewell to Gaara and his group of Sand Village ninja. Gaara stood before Tsunade, a small smile on his face.

"Thank you for the pleasurable visit," Gaara said gratefully, giving Tsunade a little bow.

"The pleasure was all mine," Tsunade replied, smiling. Gaara turned to go. He suddenly snapped his fingers, as if he had remembered something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the picture of Hisoka. Hisoka blinked.

"I forgot to give this back to you," Gaara said, holding it out to her. Hisoka stared at it.

"You should keep it," she suggested, looking away. "I mean, you already have it, and Kuro gave it to you anyway, so you might as well keep it. Keep it for luck."

Gaara looked surprised, but then he smiled.

"Then I will," he said. "Thank you. I think I learned quite a bit from you during my stay in Leaf Village. First of all, never make a dwarf angry…"

A vein throbbed in Hisoka's forehead.

"Secondly, make sure you never underestimate a little girl, especially one from the Village Hidden in Leaves…"

Hisoka's fists clenched. The vein grew slightly and throbbed with more vigor.

"And lastly," Gaara continued, but he never actually got to finish.

"I'll murder him!" Hisoka screeched, her good arm going around and her fingers twitching in an effort to get to Gaara. It took the Hokage and Sakura to hold her back, her face looking garishly nightmarish as the murderous aura steamed around her.

"Lastly," Gaara said softly. "I learned, just recently actually, that there is a certain someone in Leaf Village who has become somewhat dear to me in the past few weeks."

Hisoka's arm dropped, along with her jaw.

"Ah, young love," Tsunade sighed dreamily.

"If you ever feel like travelling," Gaara said, turning away. "The Village Hidden in Sand would love to repay the Hokage for her generosity. Perhaps a school field trip? Ah, but I suppose a three-day trip to another village is a bit much for some students. Well, maybe just you and your brother, Mizutani-san. We would be glad to have you around for the holidays. Needless to say, I feel that you could brighten up our little village quite a bit."

"N-not really," Hisoka said quickly, but it was obvious that she was pleased. "And you can call me Hisoka, if you like. I mean, you could, but you don't have to. I wouldn't mind if you called me that instead of my last name all the time. I mean, I know I told you to call me that, but that was before, and—"

"I wish you luck on your graduation, Hisoka-san," Gaara said, smiling slightly. Then he nodded to his escorts, and they headed out of the village. Sakura, Tsunade, Shizune (who was standing behind the group) and Hisoka all waved goodbye.

"Have a nice trip!" Hisoka called as they disappeared into the forest. She sighed. "Finally, that egotistical stoic know-it-all Sand Art rich-boy is gone," she said, rather unconvincingly, as she gave a theatrical relieved sigh. Sakura was smiling.

"You _like_ him," she said.

"I do _not_!" Hisoka shrieked, her cheeks flushing.

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

"Do too," added Kuro.

"You stay out of this!" Hisoka shrieked.

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

Although nothing ever _officially_ happened between Hisoka Mizutani and Gaara of the Desert, a movie came out a little while later that seemed to be making fun of their situation. Of course, it turned out that it was entirely coincidental, and after Hisoka floored a few people, the matter was forgotten.

Although Hisoka was unable to raise her right arm above her shoulder and she couldn't move her pinky finger, other than that she made a full recovery and was able to use her arm again in no time. She just had to bend her pinky forcefully for most Jutsu.

She graduated shortly afterward, passing with flying colors. She was assigned to a team and given a new master to torture, which she lost no time in doing. Gaara and Hisoka remained entirely separate until a few years later, when Hisoka had had a huge growth spurt and was nearly unrecognizable, and the Kazekage visited again for some sort of treaty signing.

He happened to meet Hisoka, and there was a bit of fluffy fan service between them. Other than that, nothing else happened. Their lives continued with nothing more than the occasional birthday gift. Sorry to disappoint.

* * *

The End


End file.
